CWU game notes GNAC weekly release
ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Dec. 2) — Coming off a sweep of Montana State University Billings and Seattle Pacific University (SPU) in its opening weekend of Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) action, the Central Washington University men's basketball team (5-2, 2-0 GNAC) returns to the Nicholson Pavilion hardwood Friday for non-conference action against Quest University Canada. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
This is the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Wildcats have won their first two conference games of the campaign.
"I thought our guys executed a game plan, from start to finish, as good as they have all year long and did an excellent job following the scout," said CWU men's basketball coach Sparling about the victory over SPU. "Defensively, I thought they did some nice things. If we can keep building on our defense, good things are on the horizon."
CWU will next get to build on its defense against a Quest team that is 7-3 on the season and 6-1 in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST). On the year, Quest is averaging 78.7 points per game.
The team's top scorer is third-year player Theo VanderEkart, a 6-0 guard from Sultan, Wash., who is averaging 20.1 points per game. He is one of three Kermodes averaging double digits in points along with his backcourt running mate Dylan Kular (12.9) and forward Michael Zayas-Duran (11.7).
The Kermodes are coached by Sean Shook, who is now in his seventh season as the team's head coach. He is a former coach at Meridian High School in Bellingham (1999-2003), where he was named the 2003 Whatcom County League Coach of the Year. He has also coached at Ferndale and Blaine high school and with the American Basketball Association's "Bellingham Slam." Shook played at Ferndale, where he was an all-league player, and at Yakima Valley Community College.
"Sean's doing a nice job with this group," Sparling acknowledged. "They've got a couple of guys who can score. I think they're going to have a tough time matching up with [CWU center] Caleb [Dressler] and JoJo [forward
Joseph Stroud] inside. Also, on the perimeter, I think our quicks are going to give them a little bit of an issue."
Friday's game marks the fourth meeting between CWU and Quest, all of which have been played in Nicholson Pavilion. Central won each of the three previous games, including a 111-59 victory last year. CWU also beat Quest 103-55 in 2011 and 103-28 in the opening game of the 2010 season.
"If we can crack 100 [again] that would be great," said Sparling. "If not, if we could get to the high 80s that would be a good night. What we're talking about with our guys is trying to keep them to 55 points or less."
The Kermodes are coming off a lost in their last game to Western Washington University in Bellingham 105-48. Prior to that contest, Quest had won six of seven games, all against PACWEST conference foes.
Sparling also says he wants his entire roster get significant minutes against the Kermodes.
"I would like to see [freshman] Drake [Rademacher] and Jerome [Bryant] get some more playing time and I'd like to look at a couple of different combinations," he added. "I think we're zeroing in on some combinations that are giving us a lot of production, but there's still room for improvement. And there are some guys in practice—who are practicing hard—who deserve a shot out there on the floor."
The game against Quest is the fourth in a six-game home stand for CWU that covers the period from the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday weekends. It is also one of the final two non-GNAC games of the season for the Wildcats.
Next up for the Central will be the final non-conference contest against Multnomah, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. It will be Dollar Night, as admission, hot dogs and soft drinks will be available for $1 each.
Quest lost on the road, in the team's second game of the season, 110-102, to Multnomah.
The Quest mascot is the kermode bear, also known as the "spirit bear." It's a subspecies of the American Black Bear living in the central and north coast of British Columbia. About 10 percent of their population have white or cream-colored coats. It is British Columbia's "official animal."
